This session delves into the nuanced intersections of religion, gender, and activism, presenting a critical exploration of how feminist religious communities and movements navigate the challenges of gender-based violence and feminist identities. From the performative aspects of ecclesial solidarity campaigns like the World Council of Churches' “Thursdays in Black” to the renegotiation of Coptic women's identities outside Egypt, the dynamics of Catholic anti-gender movements, and the construction of an ecclesiology of Chinese women, the session offers a multifaceted examination of faith's role in both perpetuating and challenging gender norms and violence. Through a blend of theoretical critique, empirical analysis, and comparative study, this session seeks to uncover how religious discourses and practices contribute to or combat the marginalization of women and LGBTQ+ communities. The panelists engage in a conversation on the possibilities for meaningful solidarity, resistance, and transformation within religious contexts across the globe, challenging participants to rethink the relationship between faith, gender, and social justice.
Much criticism has been lodged at performative allyship, which involves superficial appearances of concern that are oriented toward positive perceptions of the so-called “ally.” The concept of performative allyship uses the term “performative” in a colloquial way that indicates a problematic separation between an utterance and its effect, differing from the scholarly usage of the term. Critique of performative allyship will be used as a lens for analysis of the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) “Thursdays in Black” global campaign against gender-based violence. Are there unique elements of this campaign, its global ecclesial context, and the particularities of gender-based violence which render a different perspective on what might initially seem to be simply performative (in the more colloquial sense)? Might participation in the campaign be considered a meaningful “performance” of solidarity, or is it rightly to be dismissed as merely “performative,” benefitting only the public image of leaders who partake?
Contemporary theorizations on the role of women in the Coptic Orthodox Church follow two prevalent narratives: one emphasizing the “wife-mother” archetype as the guardian of family spirituality, and the other idealizing women as “holy-virgins”. These narratives, rooted in institutional and public discourses and based on the idea of a woman considered “virtuous” only if she fits into one of these categories, has been challenged through migration. This paper aims to analyze the role and positioning of Coptic women within their communities outside of Egypt, with specific reference to their identities, memories, and representations and in relation to the discourses produced by the Church and Coptic intellectuals; this is to ascertain how the identity of Coptic women abroad has been renegotiated, in terms of memories and representations, the impact with a society with cultural references different from those of Egypt, and in relation to the new generations born and raised abroad.
Anti-gender movements employ conservative Catholic ideologies to oppose same-sex unions, LGBTQ+ rights, abortion, and feminism. As these movements’ visibility is growing in the U.S. and Europe, they seek to marginalize, abuse, and restrict the rights of certain citizens. Hence, this presentation seeks to answer the following questions: How do anti-gender groups employ Catholic values as resources for their anti-feminist and pro-family ideologies? What kind of communicative and digital media strategies do they employ to spread their messages? The study employs a mixed-method approach combining interviews and analysis of social media accounts of anti-gender groups. The analysis suggests that these groups use Catholicism to enforce a “us versus them” dynamic that promotes hate speech and violence against women and LGBTQ+ people, but also immigrants and non-white people. In conclusion, the presentation suggests using literature on social movements and media activism to understand the connections between religion, politics, gender, communication, and violence.
The Protestant church in mainland China presents a striking and impressive phenomenon: women represent approximately 70% of its believers. These women have played pivotal roles in shaping the history of Christianity in China. However, they find themselves marginalized within the church's power dynamics and theological discourse. In this paper, by drawing inspiration from the ecclesiological understandings of Letty Russel and Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza, and exploring why and how these Chinese women stayed in the feminized church with male-centric ecclesiology and made their own contributions to the church, my aim is to unravel the unique path of Chinese Christian women have approached the formation of new communities in which being church takes place in a way that is meaningful for them, endowed with spiritual gifts, advocating for partnership leadership and use this kind community as a way to employ subtle resistance and subversion to the patriarchal and hierarchy in the church.